Great British Fashion Stamps

Today Royal Mail is showcasing Britain’s world famous fashion designers and their iconic designs on ten new stamps. Great British Fashion, issued today, brings together some of the very best of post-war fashion, featuring the innovative fashion houses which have put Britain in the top rank of world fashion design.

The ten new Great British Fashion stamps issued today, 15 May 2012.

Each stamp features a prime example of each selected designer’s work, including Tommy Nutter’s suit for Beatle Ringo Starr and Vivienne Westwood’s 1993 Harlequin dress, famously modeled by Naomi Campbell.

The idea for the issue came from the British Design Classics stamps of 2009, which featured the stylish chic of Mary Quant’s daring mini skirt. This proved to be one of the most popular of the ten stamps featured in the issue, prompting the decision to dedicate an entire issue to our world-class designers.

Since 1945, British fashion has grown to become a major national industry. Today it employs about a million people and contributes directly some £21 billion to the UK economy.

The stamps and stamp products are available at all Post Office branches, online at www.royalmail.com/fashion and from Royal Mail Tallents House (tel. 08457 641 641), 21 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9PB.
Visit the Stamps & Philately pages on our website and find out more about caring for your philatelic collection.

Diamond Jubilee Exhibition opens

Tomorrow, 10 May 2012 a new exhibition featuring material celebrating the Diamond Jubilee will open in the BPMA Search Room. The display includes an exclusive insight into the making of the stamps released to mark this special occasion.

An early proposal by Sedley Place for the Diamond Jubilee miniature sheet layout

Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne on 6 February 1952 on the death of her father King George VI. In 2012, she celebrates 60 years on the throne, her Diamond Jubilee. This exhibition shows how the two stamp issues from Royal Mail marking the Jubilee came about. The first was a miniature sheet issued in February featuring six definitives with iconic portraits from stamps, coins and banknotes. For the second special issue a series of photographs were chosen by Kate Stephens of the Queen’s life “in action” as monarch.

Both stamps from banknotes – the 1960 version by Robert Austin and the 1970 version by Harry Eccleston

The monarch, or ruler, has been the symbol of the country since at least Roman times. Alone, he or she has always represented the United Kingdom on coins and postage stamps, without any other indication of country name. For stamps, this is unique in the world. On Bank of England banknotes, however, the use of the monarch’s head is much more recent, only dating from 1960. How each of the six portraits came about is the subject of the main exhibition case. The original source photograph or sketch is followed by the origination or artwork (in the case of coins plaster casts) and an example of the item – such as Specimen banknotes from the Bank of England or coins from the Royal Mint Museum. You can then see how this has translated into the modern stamp. An accompanying brochure gives more details.

August 2011 essays with wrong values of Diamond Jubilee designs showing Her Majesty The Queen “in action”, by Kate Stephens

The Queen “in action”
Kate Stephens has been successful in designing several royal and non-royal related stamp issues. It was therefore natural to turn to her when considering images for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. How she created the commemorative issue (based on her previous research) is described in the third display case and in the brochure.

- Douglas N. Muir, Curator (Philately) -

SPECIAL DIAMOND JUBILEE OFFER: Celebrate this year’s Diamond Jubilee with a beautiful Wedgwood Jasperware plate in Portland Blue featuring one of the most well-known portraits of Queen Elizabeth II: the ‘Machin head’ – the white cameo relief created by Arnold Machin as the definitive stamp design. The dish is available in our online shop. The BPMA offer 10% discount on this wonderful souvenir – simply enter the discount code JU81L33 at checkout until 6 June 2012.

Get 10% off at our new online shop

We have just launched our new and improved online shop.

Visit the shop at www.postalheritage.org.uk/shop before 10 April and get a 10% discount off all your purchases. To obtain the discount enter the code BPMAW3BS1TE when you make your payment.

What we sell

The BPMA shop sells a range of products including greetings cards, postcards, publications, philatelic products, DVDs & CDs, models & keyrings, homewares and stationery. New products on offer include Gift Republic’s “Stamp Collection” mug, notebooks and greetings cards featuring the Machin design, and the publications The Projection of Britain: A History of the GPO Film Unit and Mail Trains.

Gift Republic's "Stamp Collection" Machin greetings card

Events booking

You can also book for our paid events through the shop. Book online now for the upcoming talks Disaster at Sea! and The Penn-Gaskell Collection of Aeronautica.

Freddie Mercury’s stamp album on show

You can probably sing along to hits such as ‘I Want to Break Free’ and ‘We Will Rock You’ by the world famous rock band Queen, but did you also know that the front man Freddie Mercury was a stamp collector?

To celebrate the 65th anniversary of Freddie Mercury’s birth we are delighted to offer an exclusive insight into his childhood, by putting his stamp album on display to the public. The stamp album is one of only a few of Mercury’s personal items that still exist in the public domain, and it will be on show at the Dominion theatre (home to the musical We Will Rock You) from 5th September to 3rd October 2011. The display is part of the world-wide event Freddie for a Day.

A page from Freddie Mercury’s stamp album. Mercury arranged his stamp collection carefully, by country and in manner which balanced colours and sizes.

Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on 5th September 1946 in Zanzibar. Bomi, Freddie’s father, originally inspired his stamp collecting and it is believed that Freddie built up his own collection between the ages of nine and twelve.

Following Freddie Mercury’s death on 24th November 1991, the majority of his belongings were burnt in line with his family’s Zoroastrian religious beliefs but his father chose to keep the stamp album. Bomi eventually decided to auction his and Mercury’s stamp collections. and the BPMA, then the National Postal Museum, purchased the album on 17th December 1993. The amount paid was donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust.

Zanzibar fiscals in Freddie Mercury’s stamp album. These are the only stamps in the album of any monetary value.

Freddie Mercury’s collection includes stamps from a wide range of countries across the world. Many are from the British Empire and those of particular philatelic interest are from Zanzibar, Mercury’s birthplace. The album also incorporates a wide selection of stamps from Eastern Europe and Commonwealth countries. As pop memorabilia and for cultural reference, Freddie Mercury’s collection is priceless.

The Englishman Who Posted Himself & Other Curious Objects

Just added to our podcast is a recording of a talk given at the BPMA by John Tingey, author of The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects. John Tingey’s talk, based on his book about the eccentric habits of W. Reginald Bray, took place in March in front of a packed audience.

W Reginald Bray in his study with some of his collection

W. Reginald Bray was an enthusiast and collector who enjoyed testing the Post Office Regulations to their limits. Bray posted items including a frying pan, a turnip, seaweed, and even himself on more than one occasion. He also tried the postal service’s patience by experimenting with ways of addressing letters and cards, using drawings, collage and codes.

Download the podcast at www.postalheritage.org.uk/podcast.

Royal Mail’s exhibition sheet for Philanippon 2011

The Philanippon 2011 world stamp exhibition starts today in Yokohama, Japan. In celebration, Royal Mail have produced this delightful sheet featuring origami objects representing Japanese culture.

The designer of the sheet is David Kimpton, an independent designer formerly of Hat-trick. Hat-trick have worked on a number of recent Royal Mail stamp issues including The Royal Society 350 Years.

The sheet is printed in lithography by Cartor Security Print and features 20 Hello stamps.

What would you do with £1,053,090?

… Buy a stamp, of course! This phenomenal price tag is how much an anonymous telephone bidder paid on June 28, 2011 for the coveted ‘Post Office Mauritius’ two penny blue stamp during a sale at Spink Auctioneers, making it the most valuable stamp ever sold in the UK. The stamp hails from the impressive Chartwell Collection, which contains over 80 stamp albums, collected by Sir Cyril Humphrey Cripps.

Example of the 'Post Office' Mauritius in the Royal Philatelic Collection

Sir Humphrey (1915-2000) was a successful English businessman and philanthropist. He began collecting stamps almost by chance in the 1950’s, picking the hobby up from his son, Robert. Robert eventually lost interest in stamp collecting as he returned to school, but his son’s fleeting interest in the hobby transformed itself into a life-long passion for Sir Humphrey. He studied philately and the existing marketplace, focusing on Great Britain and the British
Empire. In 1972, he purchased the ‘Post Office Mauritius’ 2d. blue for £29,000, which was quite expensive at the time. He was later offered an even greater sum for the stamp, but Sir Humphrey rejected it—proving that his love was the act of collecting and the collection itself, rather than the monetary value of what it contained. This extraordinary stamp became a part of his British Empire Collection, which contained stamps from primarily Bermuda, Mauritius, the Virgin Islands, as well as Canada, New Zealand and theTurks Islands.

The stamp collection also included the Great Britain Collection, from which hails other big items in Spink’s ongoing auction of Sir Humphrey’s stamps, which included several examples of 1840 Penny Black plates and an accepted die proof for the ‘One Penny Stamp’. You can see some related items from the BPMA collection: lantern slides of a proof sheet of the 1840 Penny Black and the original die used for the 1840 Penny Black’s production.

‘Proof Sheet of the 1840 Penny Black’ – Lantern Slide (2010-0411)

The Original Die Used For Production of the 1840 Penny Black (BPMA collection)

Sir Humphrey’s collection is said to be one of the finest British stamp collections in private hands, a statement only reinforced by the estimated £20 million that the collection is expected to bring in over the course of its auction within the next 18 months. But what is possibly more fascinating than the price that the Mauritius stamp fetched and the value of the objects within the collection is Sir Humphrey’s evident love of stamp collecting, a passion that has assisted with the preservation of Britain’s postal heritage.

If you’d like to have a further look at the above items from the BPMA Collection, feel free to have a look at our website or catalogue. For Spink Auctioneers and Daily Mail articles on the sale of the Mauritius stamp, you can find them here and here.

- Sarah Cooper, Intern

Stamp Registration or “Imprimatur” sheets in the BPMA Collections

One of the most important parts of the philatelic collections of the BPMA is the series of registration sheets of stamps from the Penny Black to the present day. All are public records and part of the Royal Mail Archive. These sheets are in the process of being catalogued and made available online. However, the size of the sheets is such that they cannot at the moment be scanned so images available are rather restricted. Anyone wishing to view the original sheets must make an appointment with the Curator, Philately. The following is a summary of what is
available to customers at present.

Queen Victoria (1840-c.1870)

All Victorian registration sheets (sometimes called “imprimatur” sheets by collectors) are imperforate, are catalogued and details can be seen on our online catalogue. There are no scans of any part of the original sheets. Included in this are, of course, all sheets of Penny Blacks in the collection (10 in total, though not every plate is represented) and all sheets of Twopenny Blues from the 1841 and 1858 types. No registration sheets exist for plates 1 and 2 of the original Twopenny Blue. Also included are those Penny Red sheets from 1841 onwards which exist (from plate 12 onwards – 206 in total) and the new series of Penny Reds from 1855 (a total of 106, but excluding plate 77) There are also a very small number of other values.

During the 19th century examples were officially cut from these sheets by the Inland Revenue for official purposes, so none of them is complete. Details of which stamps are missing are given in the catalogue.

Although none of these sheets is scanned we do have high quality, same-size, black and white photographs of all of the above which are available for purchase for private study. Each photograph costs £31.50 (including VAT). A “Request for Reprographic Services” form needs to be completed and signed by the applicant. As external developing studios are used and a minimum batch for processing is required, if the photograph requested is not in stock then there may be a delay of three or four weeks before completion of the order. However, payment is not required until the order is sent for processing.

If you would be interested in this service please contact the Administrator on paul.stevenson@postalheritage.org.uk or telephone 020 7239 2577.

Queen Victoria (1870-1901)

All other Victorian registration sheets are catalogued and
details can be seen in the online catalogue. However, none have been photographed and the illustrations in the catalogue are not taken from the actual sheets. Rather they come from the Phillips Collection, as with the earlier sheets. These sheets are also imperforate. There are also a few sheets of overprints on Victorian GB stamps for use by some British government departments (termed “Departmental Overprints”). All such overprinted sheets were already perforated.

King Edward VII (1901-1910)

With the registration sheets of King Edward VII the online catalogue shows a small scanned section or part of the actual sheets. These include special formats for booklets for the first time as well as Departmental overprints, and overprints on British stamps for use in the Levant, Bechuanaland and Morocco Agencies. None of the sheets is available photographed or scanned.

King George V (1910-1936) & King Edward VIII (1936)

Again, all registration sheets are catalogued and details can be found in the online catalogue together with a scan of a small part of each sheet (click here for King George V and here for King Edward VIII). Included are sheets for booklets, rolls, commemoratives and all overprints for overseas territories including Morocco Agencies, Nauru and the Levant. The last are all perforated while the former are imperforate.

George V registration sheet

Also catalogued, with a small part illustrated, are a large number of black plate proof sheets from the Royal Mint, as well as the registration sheets for postage due labels.

The gravure sheets of King Edward VIII, together with all varieties of sheet format for booklets and rolls, and all overseas overprints are also available online, again with a small part of each sheet illustrated.

Later Sheets

Work is continuing on the cataloguing of later registration sheets of the reigns of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II. These will appear progressively in the online catalogue.

Find out more about our collection of Stamps and Postal History on our website.

FAB: The Genius of Gerry Anderson

Royal Mail’s first stamp issue of 2011 celebrates the pioneering work of Gerry Anderson. Gerry Anderson is best known for 1960s children TV series such as Joe 90, Captain Scarlet, Stingray and Thunderbirds, all made using specially designed marionettes.

FAB: The Genius of Gerry Anderson stamp issue

The set of stamps also includes Royal Mail’s first ‘motion stamps’ on a miniature sheet using micro lenticular printing.

FAB: The Genius of Gerry Anderson miniature sheet

Several seconds of the original Thunderbirds footage, which plays at 30 frames per second, were re-edited to 36 key frames for the project. Further details on the design and production process can be found on the Creative Review blog.

Two First Day of Issue postmarks are available showing characters and vehicles from Thunderbirds.

FAB: The Genius of Gerry Anderson first day of issue postmarks

Stringray stamp from 1996 50th Anniversary of Children’s Television issue, 1996

And if you want to complete your Gerry Anderson on stamps collection, track down the 1996 50th Anniversary of Children’s Television issue, which includes a stamp commemorating the programme Stingray.

The Gerry Anderson stamps are available from the Royal Mail website.

Final two Festival of Stamps stamp shows

The last of the special London 2010: Festival of Stamps regional stamp shows are coming up…

Cornex 2010 – Cornwall Stamp Show, 23 October 2010

Organised by Cornwall Philatelic Federation

Free Admission

Venue:

Liskeard School and Community College
Luxstowe
Liskeard
Cornwall
PL14 3EA

Features:

• Annual competition and fair
• Dealers stands (18 dealers expected)
• Competitive and non-competitive displays
• Collections valued

 

Postal map of Bolton, 1824, from the Royal Mail Archive (POST 21/111)

 

North Western Stamp Show, 30 October, 10am-5pm

Organised by North-Western Philatelic Federation

Free Admission

Venue:

St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic High School and Sports College
Chorley New Road
Horwich
BL6 6HW

Features:

• Dealers stands (16 dealers expected)
• Competitive and non-competitive displays
• Open competition voted for by the public for the BPMA Award

Find out about other London 2010: Festival of Stamps events at www.london2010.org.uk